Treating-tank.



No. 748,181.; U PATENTED DEC. 29, 1903.

c. I, GOESSMANN.

TREATING TANK. APPLIUATION PILED SEPT. 13. 1902.

N0 MODEL.

Wilma/aces mus PUERS w; gnow-uma. wmunsmn UNITED STATES Patented December 29, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES IGNATIUS GOESSMANN, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO VELLUMOID PAPER CO., A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

TREATING-TAN K.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 748,181, dated December 29, 1903.

Application filed September 13, 1902- Serial No. 123,213. (No model.)

inafter set forth; and the object of my improvement is to provide practicable and efficient means for subjecting paper or other fabric to a bath in such manner that the fab ric shall take up and be thoroughly impregnated with the solution comprising said bath. Difficulty has been experienced heretofore in properly saturating fabric with some solutions, more especially those containing glue, for certain purposes, owing to the fact that partial exposure to air is desirable,if not necessary, during apart of the time the paper is being thus treated; and my invention is de- I attain signed to overcome such difiicnlty. this object by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through my improved tank; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same; and Fig. 3, a section of a part of the device, showing a modified form of construction. I

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A suitable tank a is provided, which may be made of wood and lined with sheet metal, if desired. In order to maintain a constant liquid-level in the tank and compensate for the loss of solution therefron1,said loss being represented by what the fabric carries away with it, the solution must be supplied faster than it is taken out by the fabric and an overflow provided. To this end an overflo w-pipe 1) opens through one side of' the tank near the right-hand end, but may be located at any other convenient point, the bottom of said pipe, however, always being at the proper height above the floor of the tank to mark the approximately constant 1iquid-level,(represented at 0,) and an inlet-pipe (1 opens into the tank through the same side with said pipe b; but the position of this pipe at even in regard to height is not material. The pipe I) may lead back to the reservoir from which the solution is pumped or forced into the tank. The pipe d must be large enough to pour a volume of solutioninto the tank which is so much in excess of the amount carried away by the fabric that a constant stream escapes through the pipe I); otherwisethe constant liquid-level could not well be maintained without resorting to more or less complicated float-valves or other mechanism impracticable for use in this kind of a tank. It follows as a matter of course that the pipe I) should be of suflicient size to take care of the overflow at all times.

Certain members which serve as guides are required in the tank, and these, with the exception of the squeeze-rolls, may be rotatable or not, as hereinafter explained; but the squeeze-rolls must revolve. Three rotary guides or rollers e, f, and g are shown in Figs. 1 and 2 extending crosswise of the tank at, their supportingends being journaled in suitable bearings at or in the sides thereof. The roller e is located adjacent the left-hand end of the tank and the rollers fand 9 near the opposite end, the roller 9 being between the adjacent end of the tank and the rollerf. The liquid-level mark 0 is in tangential relation with the periphery of the roller f, which is positioned above said mark. The roller e is so placed that its upper surface is some distance above the mark a, and the roller g is raised to entirely clear said mark. Within and near the left-hand end of the tank a are two guide and squeeze rolls h and t', the first above and resting upon the second. The trunnions or shafts of the rolls h and t' are mounted in any convenient manner at or in the sides of the tank. One or both. squeezerolls may be covered with rubber or other yielding material.

At the right-hand end of the tank and rising above the same are bracketsjj, adapted to support the trunnions or shaft k of a paper or other fabric roll Z. The brackets j may be I oo bolted to the outside of the end of the tank or otherwise secured in position.

A sheet-iron or other suitable jacket m isfastened beneath the floor of the tank and contains a steam or hot-water coil n, which is heated from any convenient source. The solution is preferably heated before being run into the tank, after which said solution is prevented from cooling or maintained at the desired degree of temperature by means of the aforesaid coil. After the tank has been supplied with the heated solution the strip of material of which the roll Z is made up is carried downward from said roll beneath the guides or rollersg and f, up over the roller 6,

under and partly around the roll h, partly around the roll 2', and thence away from the tank. The strip 0 is drawn through the tank by means of the rolls h and 2, power being applied to the former forthis purpose through the medium of a pulley p on the trunnion or shaft of the same, gear, or other actuating mechanism. It will now be readily seen that the strip 0 is first exposed to the vapor arising from the hot solution while still supported in the'air, especially between the rollers g andf, Where it is quite near the solution itself and being gradually brought int-o actual contact therewith. Next the strip is supported in floating contact with and moved over the surface of the solution for some distance or until raised out of such floating contact by the roller 6. Owing to the pressure of air on the strip after it leaves the rollerfsaid strip maintains a horizontal position for a considerable distance beyond said roller before being lifted from the solution by the roller 6. While the top ofthe strip is exposed to the air in this the strip is; traveling,- of course.

guide and squeeze roll h.

manner, with the bottom in contact with the solution, the air and gases in the fabric are elimination of any air and gases that may yet remain in the fabric up to this time. After leaving the roller 6 and upon arriving at the solution the strip is completely submerged below the surface thereof as it passes to the Finally the strip is conveyed from the tank by the squeezerolls, which at the same time remove the surplus solution as said strip is pressed between them.

supported thereby, serves as a dam to prevent the solution from backing up onto the -floating portion of said strip in case the speed of the latter is slackened. The fabric is now thoroughlyimpregnated with the solution and The elevated roller 6, with the stripv in a condition for such further treatment as the exigencies of the case demand.

Myinvention is useful without the guide or roller g; but it has been found that the presence of this member obviates the liability of the formation of air-bubbles between the solution and the fabric, which sometimes interfere with the proper saturation of said fabric by causing the latter to be gradually brought under the in fluence of the hot solution instead of being suddenly plunged into the same.

Instead of having the guide or roller 6 located so as to bring its upper surface above the line 0 this member may be lowered so that said line is in tangential relation with its upper surface, as shown in Fig. 3. Here the lower surface of the rollerfand the upper surface of the roller 6 are in the same horizontal plane, and the fabric is not raised out of the solution before the final immersion. This arrangement gives satisfactory results in some instances.

If it is desired to elevate the squeeze-rolls so that the bottom one is clear of the liquid contents of the tank, a fourth guideroller q is located at the left of the roller e, with its lower surface at least below the mark 0, as shown in Fig. 3. The squeeze-rolls are placed above the roller q and receive the strip after it passes beneath said roller. This construction is only useful with a fabric having suflicient consistency when wet to stand the drawing strain incidental to moving the fabric through the tank. Non-rotary guides other than squeeze-rolls too can be employed in place of those which revolve only when the fabric is tough enough to permit of its being drawn over the same without tearing.

In order to adapt the same tank for the successful treatment of different weights or qualities of fabric, it is desirable that the guide members should be adjustable. Two-way adjustmentthat is to say, vertical and horizontalis preferred for these members, since greater variety and nicety of adjustment may be thereby obtained. By adjusting either one or both of the guides e and f horizontally the distance between them is increased or (1e creased and the amount of floating contact of the fabric with the solution varied accordingly. By raising or lowering the guide 6 the amount of complete exposure of the fabric to the air is varied, or this member may be lowered into the position as shown in Fig.

3. The change in position vertically of the V squeeze-rolls or the guide q alters the duration of the immersion of the fabric. The guidef would not be adjusted vertically unless the constant liquid-level were changed.

The position of the guide g may be altered to the bottom roll or said guide horizontally. Any suitable means may be employed for the adjustment of the guide members, such as will readily occur to one skilled in the art.

What I claim as 'my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination with a liquid-holding tank and means to maintain an approximately constant liquid-level therein, of means to guide a strip of fabric into floating contact with the surface of the liquid contents of said tank and into and through the liquid.

2. The combination with a liquid-holding tank and means to maintain an approximately constant liquid-level therein, of means to guide a strip of fabric into floating contact with the surface of theliquid contents of said tank, to raise said strip clear of the liquid, and to direct it into and through said liquid.

3. The combination with a liquid-holding tank and means to maintain an approximately constant liquid-level therein, of means to gradually guide a strip of fabric onto the surface of the liquid contents of said tank, to guide said strip in floating contact with the liquid, and to direct it into and through said liquid.

4. The combination with a liquid-holding tank and means to maintain an approximately constant liquidlevel therein, of means to gradually guide a strip of fabric onto the sur face of the liquid contents of said tank, to guide said strip in floating contact with the liquid, to raise it from such contact, and to direct it into and through said liquid.

5. The combination with a liquid-holding tank, of means to maintain an approximately constant liquid-level therein, and guide members so arranged in said tank that a line rep resenting-said level is in tangential relation with the lower surface of one of such members, two others of said members having their upper and lower surfaces respectively above and below such line.

6. The combination with a liquid-holding tank, of a guide member in said tank adjacent one end and having its lower surface in tangential relation with the surface of the liquid in the tank, and two other guide members adjacent the other end of the tank and in contact with said liquid.

7. The combination with a liquid-holding tank, of a guide member in said tank adjacent one end and out of contact with the liquid in the tank, an associated guide member in peripheral contact only with said liquid, and a. guide member adjacent the other end of the tank in contact with said liquid.

8. The combination with a liquid-holding tank, of two guide members in said tank adjacent one end, one of such members being out of contact with the liquid in the tank and the other in tangential relation with the surface of said liquid, and two other guide members adjacent the other end of the tank arranged in contact with the liquid therein.

9. The combination with a liquid-holding tank, of two guide members in said tank adjacent one end, and a third guide member adjacent the other end of the tank, the intermediate member having its lower surface below the horizontal plane of the lower surface of the first member, and the third member having its lower surface below the horizontal plane of the lower surface of the intermediate member, the second and third members being in contact with the liquid in the tank.

10. The combination with a liquid-holding tank, of two guide members in said tank adjacent one end, and two other guide members adjacent the other end of the tank, the horizontal plane at the lower surface of one of the intermediate members being below the lower surface of one of the end members and below the upper surface of the other intermediate member and above the lower surface of the other end member, all but the first member being in contact with the liquid in the tank.

11. The combination with a liquid-holding tank and means to maintain the contents thereof in a heated state, of two guide members in said tank adjacent one end, and two other guide members adjacent the other end of the tank, the second, third and fourth members being in contact with the liquid in the tank, the lower surfaces of the first pair occupying difierent horizontal planes and the upper and lower surfaces respectively of the second pair occupying different planes.

12. The combination with a liquid-holding tank, of means to maintain an approximately constant liquid-level therein, means to maintain the contents of said tank in a heated state, a guide member in the tank arranged with its lower surface on the horizontal plane represented by such level, an associated guide member entirely above such plane, and a third guide member positioned to assist in directing the paper below the'surface of the liquid.

13. The combination with a liquid-holding tank, of means to maintain an approximately constant liquid-1e vel therein, means to retain the contents of said tank in a heated state, two guide members arranged one entirely above such level and the other with its lower surface in line therewith, and two other guide members arranged with their upper and lower surfaces respectivelyabove and below said level.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES IGNATIUS GOESSMANN.

Witnesses:

F. A. CUTTER, ALLEN WEBSTER.

IIO 

